Buildings and houses have pipe lines that need to be pressure tested in order to verify that the various joints in the pipe line do not leak. Such lines include water lines and drainage lines. This testing is typically done by hooking up a source of pressurized air or water to the line and filling the line. Because an open line will not hold the pressure for testing, the end(s) of each line or segments of the line must be capped or plugged prior to introducing the pressurized air or water. This is troublesome and there is thus a need for an easier way to block the line for testing.
Further the line must frequently be tested in an intact state, after all joints have been fully assembled. If a single joint or a series of joints are tested, this testing requires plugs to be introduced into the interior of the pipe via temporary openings which must be later closed and sealed. It is desirable to have the ability to pressurize and relieve pressure at the test fitting. But in some cases it may be desirable to fill at the test fitting and yet not release the test pressure by allowing to fluid flow through the pipe rather than venting at the test fitting. There is thus a need to relieve the test pressure in a controlled manner and in a variety of ways.
During or after the initial pressure testing of pipe lines a need often arises to inspect the plumbing line or to test for blockage, typically by running a plumbing snake down the line. A cleanout fitting is often provided to make this inspection and clearing easier. Cleanout fittings combined with pressure-test fittings exist as inflatable bladders are inserted into cleanout fittings for pressure testing. But the inflatable bladders risk breaking or cracking the fitting by over-inflating the sealing bladder. Combinations using removable gate slides or gate valves and/or removable but hollow finish slides are described in several patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,398,675, 6,699,704, 6,672,139, 6,655,413, 6,422,064, 6,234,007, and D488,852. Most of these provide small openings in the pipe and are thus suited only for pressure testing but do not readily allow other uses, such as pipe cleanout or inspection.
One company makes a gate device that is inserted into a generally V-shaped notch (viewed from the side) in a clean-out fitting is described and show in U.S. Pat. No. 7,325,442. But that design requires a large, complex shaped opening and a large, complex shaped seal that bends at right angles, neither of which are proven to stand the test of time and repeated use. Moreover, the generally V-shaped notch extends to the midline of the pipe fitting and significantly weakens the fitting, causing deformation and leakage when the fitting is deformed by the weight of the adjoining pipeline. As reflected by this patent, it is believed disadvantageous to form a pressure testing fitting in the same opening as a cleanout fitting, in part because many plumbing codes require that the cleanout fitting have an opening that is no smaller than 0.5 inches smaller than the nominal size of the pipe and such a large opening weakens the fitting and pipeline.
There is thus a need for a combined pressure-testing cleanout fitting that is of simple construction and that uses simpler and more reliable seal while providing increased strength to support the weight of adjoining pipelines.